TV Drama Review #131 - They Kissed Again 恶作剧2吻

How Long? 20 epis
When & which tv stn? 2007-2008/CTV & GTV
Who's in?
Ariel Lin ~ Yuan Xiang Qin
Joe Cheng ~ Jiang Zhi Shu
Jiro Wang ~ Jin Yuan Feng
Rui Sha ~ Christine Roberts
Aaron Yan ~ Ah Bu
Tang Yu Zhe ~ Ouyang Gan
Figaro Ceng ~ Yang Qi Tai
Wu Xiong ~ Luo Zhi Yi
Zhang Bo Han & Cong Yang (teenage) ~ Jiang Yu Shu
Meng Geng Ru ~ Lin Hao Mei
What's it abt? (edited from Dramawiki)
The sequel starts with Xiang Qin & Zhi Shu's honeymoon trip in Guam. Even after marriage, they experience problems and interferences in their marriage such as mistaken pregnancy, misunderstandings, and a run-in with a girl from Zhi Shu's past. Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu switch to medical school to become nurse and doctor. During that time, Zhi Shu meets new rivals who wish to outdo him and Xiang Qin makes four new friends, and one of them likes her and wishes to replace Zhi Shu. On the other hand, Ah Jin finally meets the girl of his life-Christine, while Yu Shu finally dates Hao Mei.
Love & Hates:
Plot-I think many ppl can't bear to see the end of TKA. It's a good sequel, and one of the nice TW idol dramas I have ever watched. The storyline faithfully sticked to the manga, with a "hot" starting and a "warm" ending. I was never bored watching this entire series, except for epi 19 which focused on Ah Jin & Christine. The storyline might not have new sparks to offer, and it seems rather "plain" & homely somehow, but i really like how it flows...the cast is good, their acting were natural, u can feel their bonding...We can see how the couple grew up and how they started to step into the society...and even Yu Shu & Ah Jin grew up alot too. After watching the last epi, i really feel that the couple has "graduated"-as in, now, they can finally walk towards the path of happiness, after "falling down" on several occasions. The drama stopped at where the manga stopped. We all know that there's no exact ending of this manga, since mangaka Tada Kaoru passed away before finishing it. And i think there won't be a 3rd instalment also.
Cast-Looking back at the review i wrote for ISWAK, I think Joe Cheng has improved alot from the ISWAK to TKA. Of coz, many wld mentioned how expressionless he was, how coldblooded he was in the beginning, but I think Zhi Shu learnt to be more expressive of his emotions as the drama progressed. And I think Joe did a good job la...I really liked to see him in short hair, looked refreshing, especially the hairdo when he went for army. His chemistry with Ariel is bloody good, too natural liao! haha! ok...they shared too many kissing scenes until i lost count...butta, since they are a married couple here, if there's too little kissing scenes, also abit weird right? Hahah! Ariel's acting was equally good too, she's really expressive, and full of emotions. Still rmbed the scenes when she doubted Zhi Shu's love for her, she left home...and during the last epi, she left home again..becoz she's worried her illness wld pass on to their child.(Oops..spoilers!)
I mentioned that I didnt like the guy who act as Yu Shu...and i still didnt like him here..haha! They changed the actor as Yu Shu became a teen la...i think he's slightly better la, though i wonder why can't they find a more handsome guy? Haha! Btw, that new actor looked good with the actress who acted as Hao Mei...cute lil' couple wor!
Gotta give thumbs up for the other cast, esp. the Jiang household. I rmbed how Xiang Qin's dad (Tang Cong Sheng) slapped Zhi Shu on the face...that's quite a heartbreaking scene.
It's quite a pity Jiro didn't have lots of screen time here, as this sequel focused alot more on the couple. I think he's acting is alright, but nothing new from him. His pair up with Rui Sha was kinda funny...ok la...they are an interesting pair...butta, since Chrisine is a british, why find someone who's mother tongue is not english? (Rui Sha is from Ukraine i think...)
The new fellas added in as Xiang Qin's nursing classmates did a good job too, though somehow they disappeared after they graduated...quite a pity..
Cameo of Ah Nuo by Wang Zi..err...not much comments about him, didn't like his "very sianz" look though. (And how dare he tackled hao mei!!)
OST-didn't like the themesong by Fan Xiao Xuan...luckily Ariel's ending theme "You" was nice. Hmm..i find the other songs average la..Joe's song was ok...though I didn't quite like it somehow. The song sang by Zhao Yong Hua (Zhi Shu's mum) was nice too. I still like ISWAK's themesong man!
Worth watching?
Those who have watched ISWAK, must watch! Those who haven't, suggest you to watch ISWAK first. I think this is a above average idol drama, so wld strongly recommend to you guys.

TV Drama Review #112 - Romantic Princess 公主小妹

How long? 13 epis
When & which tv stn? 2007/CTV & GTV
Who's in?
Angela Chang ~ Mai Qiu Sui/Huangfu Shan
Wu Chun ~ Nan Feng Jin
Calvin Chen ~ Nan Feng Cai
George Hu ~ Nan Feng Lin
Li Ang Lin ~ Nan Feng Ying
Genie Zhuo ~ Gong Mo Li
What's it abt? (edited from Dramawiki)
Adopted by middle classed parents, Xiao Mai has always had a dream to be an heiress. Who knew that one day this dream would come true. Xiao Mai's biological grandfather, Emp is the head of a prestigous aristocratic family and after many years of searching, he finally finds his long lost granddaughter. As she starts her life as an heiress, everyday is filled with excitement, However, everything seems a bit different from what she had imagined them to be.
Emp picked 4 candidates in which one of them will become the heir of the family, one of which is Nan Feng Jin. Hatred soon turns to love as Xiao Mai and Nan Feng Jin relationship starts to unravel. Although it seems as if it would be a happy ending, problems are always around the corner to separate these two lovebirds.
Love & Hates:
(Gotta bear with me for those Romantic Princess lovers...don't be offended ah..lolz!)
Plot-Boring...for a person like me. Cinderella stories are common, but not as boring as this one. Honestly, u can just watch the last epi and u can sort of know what happened from the star. Too predictable but the biggest problem is there's really no orignality at all. I really don't see an effort of trying to write a better storyline lo. It's definitely a bad move to extend 3 more epis, made the drama kinda draggy. I really think the lead actor is the grandpa Emp, he's the one who's creating all this mass and troubles. Come to think of it, which rich ah gong wld play such childish games? I mean his plans were really childish...imagine he get a fake girl to be her grand-daughter and let her real grand-daughter become a maid...what the heck?
Cast-They had got the right person for the male lead, just that Wu Chun's acting skills are still not there yet. Expressions were kinda similar throughout, and he gotta work on his mandarin pronounciation. I was not very impressed with Angela's performance this time round, may be becoz' her character doest not have much depth, this goes to the same for the other characters. (Very shallow...) I think Angela is better for more mature roles, she's not the best person to act like a princess and speak with her high pitch voice. Genie Zhuo looked more like a rich girl to me...haha! I havent seen her acting b4 ba, not too bad, but nothing spectacular. As for Calvin Chen....he's average, but I find his eyes rather "disturbing"...or "seductive" instead? Hahaha....May be when he's trying to get close to Xiao Mai ba...
Music-Probably no ost for this drama...but the somgs are surprisingly not bad. Fei Lun Hai & S.H.E's "Xin Wo" is quite catchy, while Angela definitely excels with her strong vocals in "Bu Xiang Dong De".
Worth watching?
It's watchable, for any die-hard tw idol drama fans, or Wu Chun fans. I watched for both angela and him la...but I got really disappointed with the storyline, and the cast's performance was average. Well, for others, save your time watching other dramas.

TV Drama Review #110 - Ying Ye 3 Plus 1 樱野3加1

How long? 16 epis
When & which tv stn? 2007/TTV & SETTV
Who's in?
Ming Dao ~ Yang Jia Jiang
Joe Chen ~ Xia Tian
Viter Fan ~ Xu Ding Kai
Jason Hsu ~ Wang Dao Ren
Huang Zhi Wei ~ Fang Wei
Zhang Xin Yu ~ Zeng Wen Hui
Liu Zhe Ying ~ Su Xiao Han
What's it abt? (edited from Dramawiki)
Xia Tian, Ah Jiang, Fang Wei & Bulu grew up on Westside Street together and they're students from Ying Ye High School.
Xia Tian's dad is a police officer at Westside Street and is going to retire. But just on that fateful day, they all had a fight with Dinosaur & gang in the school and were almost expelled by the principal, with pressure from Dino's politician dad.
Officer Xia went to settle the conflict and not only did it got complicated, his gun got misplaced by the principal too. Everyone thus discussed things over and decided that Ah Jiang & gang will remain in school and they must find the gun within one month before their graduation. Or else, they will be graduate successfully.
While finding the missing gun, they discovered that an ex-convict Grey Wolf who escaped from prison is possibly connected with the missing gun and surprisingly, the Grey Wolf has close communication and contact with students in Ying Ye.
During their mission, AJ and XT who have since young been at loggerheads develop feelings for each other. FW who has always liked XT now becomes the love rival of AJ. FW knows that AJ likes XT too, but the latter kept denying, though he felt jealous when FW courts XT. In the end, FW gave up and conceded defeat to AJ and AJ & XT become a couple. The couple then gone some hardships and their relationship becomes closer and stronger.
Just then, Xu Ding Kai a.k.a tian ji ge appeared out of a sudden and disclosed his real identity as a police officer after a case which he was mistaken as a mob boss. Soon, he came b/w the couple and AJ sees him as a threat. As DK gets closer to XT, his ulterior motives are also getting clearer. While FW & Bulu are finding evidences against DK, XT decided to go to US for further studies and her relationship with AJ starts to have problems. AJ decided to let XT leave him for good and initiates a break up heartlessly after he found out that he may become blind.
FW & Bulu finally found out DK's motives, but then DK and XT's dad are on a mission to catch Solomen...and DK finally showed his true colours....
Love & Hates:
Plot-Boring, and I'm disappointed. I think i managed to clear this becoz' of Ming Dao & Qiao En. Basically, the 1st part of the plot was abt their sch life...and it's really not interesting. Most of the cast, except for Jason, Xin Yu and some others, looked too matured to act as students lo. Thus, I'm not impressed with the drama at all. There are many action scenes b/w the 4 vs dino...very "comical" and "computerised"....2nd part of the story was when Fan Zhi Wei entered the drama. Storyline sort of gone out of track...what's this drama's theme? There's like a clean break b/w the 1st part and the latter. Ending was lame...and kinda rush.
Cast-Was anticipating MingEn couple after their last drama. Love their chemistry. Butta as i said earlier, I didn't like the plot and of coz' I don't really like the characters as well. Sorry la..
MingEn still got the chemistry la, butta it's definitely not as hot as their "WZBQW". Ming Dao's acting was as usual, his style...expression, way of talking (esp. when he shouted...). I find him childish also...perhaps becoz' Ah Jiang is a young fella. Hahaha!
Qiao En is a tough girl....no difference here. XT is definitely one of the most tomboyish characters in idol dramas. I liked her change to a more feminine one as the drama progressed. Emotional scenes were done rather well, butta I hope to see her in a new image la...
Huang Zhi Wei looked abit odd in the group, perhaps he really doesn't fit into his character sia. It's weird la...and his acting was stiff leh. I wondered how well he did in his famous drama "The Rose". Jason did relatively alright...but too little scenes of him...and HZW la. Their screen time taken up by the other guy...Fan Zhi Wei. Haha! Actually his character was the most interesting fella of all. Coz' I can't be sure if he's a gd or bad guy till the very end of the drama....he's always changing...and u can't really guess his next steps. Butta, I don't like his voice leh...sounds weird...and he's actually same age as Ming Dao ba (2 days younger than MD some more), but he looked so much older. haha! Btw, HZW is younger than MD in real life. Ha!
The other cast was alright la...gotta mention Chong Chong (Dino's dad)...really a kns fella! Hahaha!
OST-hmm.....songs are not bad, but not as nice compared to "AQMFS" or "WZBQW".
Worth watching?
Definitely won't reco to any of you...waste of time. I guess many ppl watch it for the same reason as me la...butta...not really worth it anyway. I think this is MD's worst drama of all times...(not sure of Angel Lover tho..). Ratings speaks for itself....

TV Drama Review #96 - Why Why Love 换换爱

How long? 16 epis
When & which tv stn? 2007/CTS/GTV
Who's in?
Rainie Yang ~ Tong Jia Di
Mike He ~ Huo Da
Kingone Wang ~ Huo Yan
Judy Qiu ~ Yang Yan Shu
Chen Yan Xi ~ Jiang Xiao Nan
What's it abt? (edited from dramawiki)
Tong Jia Di needs a life besides work and paying her family debt, So her best friend Xiao Nan sneaks in a “Love” coupon in Jia Di’s raffle box praying that the lucky guy who draws it will sweep Jia Di off her feet. As it so happens, Huo Yan, the compassionate manager Jia Di has a secret crush on, is the lucky guy. However, though the prince can exchange the coupon for Cinderella’s love, it doesn’t mean he will be able to do it, especially when his devilish younger brother is determined to exchange his “Master/Angel” coupon for her servitude.
Love & Hates:
Well, gotta say first tt I dont mean to offend any fans of WWL. Haha! I am always quite critical of TW idol dramas. I remembered I am like the only one who didnt like "Devil beside you". With the same cast, WWL didnt impressed me much too. Honestly, I think the cast cant create new sparks to impress me anymore. Plot was alright, nothing to make me so anxious to carry on. I really wonder how i can finish this drama, with lots of skipping of coz. Lolz! The last part of the drama made Huo Da sick...and suddenly, the "devils" all turned good-I meant Yan Shu and Huo Da's dad. Quite redundant...i seriously dun feel the need to have such a twist. Happy ending with a twist in the end is like too happy to be true. What's more, the twist is nothing special.
Mike hasn't impressed me with his dramas, and his previous dramas didnt have very high viewerships. WWL sort of saved his face by hitting 4+...not bad for him. Acting is as usual, the devilish guy who likes to torture the female lead. His expressions were sharp, especially with his starings. Butta, I don't really see much improvements from him.
Kingone did well this time round, maybe his character was given more developments la. He carried off quite well as HY, though sometimes I find Mike looking older than him...lolz! (Maybe he needs a more mature look to look older than Mike).
Rainie, the cutie pie in her dramas was alright la. Liked her sub theme in the drama, but I heard it too often. I wished she wld challenge new roles in the future, like what Angela Chang did in "Ai Sha 17". I think she wld impress me better, like what she did for her movie.
As for Judy, I wondered if she's a pure chinese (I think she's a Japanese). Her pronounciaion was quite problematic, plus her acting was terrible. Who on earth picked her to act ah? I mean there are better actresses. She's not pretty, can't act and I cant tolerate her hairdo. Ha!
Worth watching?
Personally I wont reco to u guys, butta I bet many of u wld watch it for the cast. Haha! Lots of kissing scenes etc, butta, it just cant make me hooked up for it.

TV Drama Review #83 - My Lucky Star 放羊的星星

How long? 20 epis
When & which tv stn? 2007/Settv & TTV
Who's in?
Jimmy Lin ~ Zhong Tian Qi
Yoo Ha Na ~ Xia Zhi Xing
Hong Xiao Ling ~ Ou Ya Ruo
Leon J Williams ~ Zhong Tian Jun
Li Wei ~ Han Zhi Yin
What's it abt?
Right after getting out of prison for a jewelry con, Xia Zhi Xing got entangled in another stolen jewelry case, in which she was mistaken for the thief when the police caught her holding the stolen "Queen Mary." The real perpetrator was actually Zhong Tian Qi, the rebellious young master of the E Shine, who owned the precious stone. Tian Qi stole the "Queen Mary" to spite Ou Ya Ruo for breaking up with him to marry his brother Tian Jun. Since Qi couldn't return home, he went with Xing back to her hometown to experience the one million possibilities that she believed. Thw two soon got together and Ya Rou was deeply jealous, even though she was engaged with Jun. Ya Rou's dad asked her for money again and Ya Rou tried to get rid of him. She delibrately did something to the car but out of her expectation, Jun drove the car to fetch Xing to Qi, hoping that they would reconcile. Jun and Xing got into an accident, which killed Jun and Qi misunderstood Xing for escaping without saving his brother.5 yrs later, Qi took over E Shine and became a cold-blooded person. Xing met Han Zhi Yin, who's going to be the spokesperson for E Shine at an event. Xing didn't expect to meet Qi again and this time round, she's stuck between Qi and Yin. Meanwhole, Yin found out who's his real father and it happened to be..
Loves & Hates:
Actually this drama can be split into 2 parts...when Qi was still a rebellious fella and after his bro died, he changed to another person. Kinda sianz abt Leon Williams kenna "killed" la, and Li Wei only appeared in the drama at the later part. Plot was more interesting after Qi changed butta it kinda copied the Korean drama style...contract fiancee for 3 months. I wish TW idol dramas can have something better than all these "lao xi ma".
This is Jimmy Lin's first idol drama...and to be honest, his looks didnt give his age away..haha! Still a young fella ah...butta his acting didnt quite impress me at first. He got better at the 2nd half...more expressive and with more mixed emotions.
Yoo Ha Na...a korean who debut in TW..her voice is dubbed la..but she could speak mandarin sia. Found her acting average la, but as the drama went on..she got better..Koreans tend to have exaggerated expressions initially..haha!
Leon Williams was alright here...his character didnt have much developments la..and poor him loved someone who didnt love him. Well, quite obvious he had to give way to Jimmy Lin and became the 2nd lead (for half of the drama..). Now i wonder if he would be back as a main lead next time..
Hong Xiao Ling...acting was alright also...at least she's pretty enough. Haha..though many ppl would detest her character, but Ya Ruo is a pathetic fella. All the sadness was caused by her actions actually...
Li Wei looked good in this drama and i enjoyed his performance la. Hehe...it's quite a pity he wasn't in this drama throughout. Loved his chemistry with Yoo Ha Na. It would be quite nice if the 2 ended up as a couple lo..but u know..
Worth watching?
A not-too-bad idol drama...though the plot has nothing new to offer.